


when the rain ends. [ENG]

by NobodyFromNowhere



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 10:59:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18051233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyFromNowhere/pseuds/NobodyFromNowhere
Summary: “We’re running out of food,” Josh says at the next stop, when they are already outside the city limits. This desert is endless, but if you go straight, you can stumble upon a village, and there is another city where there may be survivors.





	when the rain ends. [ENG]

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [когда закончится дождь](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/463652) by abhorrent. 



Tyler wraps his knee in an elastic bandage. He sits on the dirt floor of some kind of warehouse. Somewhere you can hear the sound of dripping water, because of leaking roof. You also can hear the sound of rain on the street. This world decided to flood them.

"When the rain ends, we will need to move on," a voice said above his ear, and then the sound of a lit cigarette is heard.

Tyler turns around and looks at Josh. His face is lit by a cigarette. Fingers shakes a little, but nobody pays attention to it.

“I know,” Tyler responds, straightening his leg and wincing a little. “Do you think we'll get to the next shelter?”

“I hope so. We will try,” Josh does not smile, throwing his free hand on the boy’s shoulder, forcing him to put his head on his shoulder.

Tyler agrees, covers his eyes and lean on the wall with Josh. Now, they have a little time to sleep. And in the morning they will have to wade through the ruins of the city again, hoping to get to the shelter intact.

"Did you hear?" Tyler presses a rifle to his chest, looking around the deserted street.

Josh also presses his trunk, looks at the inverted cars and pieces of buildings on the road. The street, once completely crowded with people, is now completely empty. The sun mercilessly burns the skin.

“I heard. It would be better if it was an ordinary person, not infected," Josh walks next to Tyler, ready to protect him if necessary. 

Almost half a year ago there was a disaster. People have fallen victim to natural disasters, sharply hit from all sides: there was tsunami, earthquakes, tornadoes. Everything strucked the Earth, wiped the human race from her face. Because of the earthquake, the state laboratories left a dangerous virus that turned people's brains into porridge, maked them aggressive, programmed them for inappropriate behavior, forced them to kill with their bare hands.

Tyler calling it a zombie apocalypse. Josh calling him a child, but he agreeing with him. It was not people, it was something that didn't have any common sense, nor a sense of compassion.

Josh more than once knocked the brains of infected. He and Tyler more than once saw, how mad people tearing pieces of flesh from others with their teeth. It was easier to kill than to be the next victim.

“It would be better if we died in an earthquake,” Tyler says, continuing on his way straight.

Josh is silent, but Tyler knows that he agrees. They reach the next place to sleep.

***

//

"I miss our dog. I hope, it died painlessly," Tyler says, looks at the corpses of some dogs on the street. It does not cause emotions. 

“I hope no one ate it,” Dun frowned, recalling their retriever. It ran away during earthquake.

The sun beats down mercilessly, it burns open shoulders. Wear a sweatshirt is unrealistic, too hot. The ozone layer is destroyed, and soon the sun will burn the Earth.

Tyler checks the time on his watch. A little more than three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun will set, but not soon. They have not much food. They have almost no water.

“We’re running out of food,” Josh says at the next stop, when they are already outside the city limits. This desert is endless, but if you go straight, you can stumble upon a village, and there is another city where there may be survivors.

Tyler looks ahead and clenches dry lips.

"There may be an old gas station ahead. There may be food there," he says wearily, as if he does not want to go anywhere. But the prospect of dying from dehydration or starvation does not seem attractive. Dying is always scary.

“I hope there will be water,” Josh throws an old, battered briefcase over his shoulders and helps Tyler to stand up from the hot ground.

Joseph marks the next day with his wand in his notebook, and then they slowly move on. Tyler does not know how long they will go.

***

Josh sees an old billboard with an inscription "pray" on it.

"Do you want to pray?" he points to billboard and looks at Tyler with tired eyes.

"If God existed, he would have done something already. Prayer will not help us," Tyler scratches his cheek with the rifle barrel.

They pass by the billboard, watch as the letter falls off. Both think that if God were, he would have already allowed them to die. In the distance you can see the building of the old gas station. In appearance, not even destroyed.

“Maybe we’ll be lucky today, and there is food,” Josh says and involuntarily quickens his pace. Tyler follows him, his knee hurts. 

“I hope there is enough space for us to sleep,” Tyler is hunches over by the weight of the briefcase behind his back.

They get to the building, and Josh pushes the door with his shoulder, holding the rifle at the ready. He quickly inspects the room and comes to the conclusion that there are definitely no people.

But there is water and food, they are lucky. They go through all the shelves several times and take everything. They pour water into flasks and put a couple of bottles in their briefcases.

Tyler walks over to the calendar hanging on the wall and looks at the last crossed out dates. He counts the number of sticks in his notebook, and then he counts the days on this old calendar, muttering to himself.

“Josh. Today is the eighteenth of June. It's your birthday,” he said. Dun stands up from the floor, walks up to him and looks at Joseph and the calendar.

“I'm twenty-eight. So much time has passed,” Josh looks at the calendar. He doesn't feel anything, it would be better if he died when he was twenty-seven.

"The 'Doomsday' was two weeks after my nineteenth birthday. More than half a year has passed, but we are still alive," Tyler whispers, looking at the calendar and pursing his lips.

“I would prefer to be dead than to hang around the desert, knowing that I would die of hunger, of infected hands, or nature would strike again at the end.”

"Me too. Happy birthday," Tyler silently gives Josh a pack of cigarettes, which he found behind the counter.

“Thank you,” Josh takes the bundle from his hands and kisses him for the first time in a long time.

Their main task was to survive and move on - to the east, where the land was not so affected by the blows. They did not have time for all these mercies, but sometimes they allowed themselves such luxury.

“Today we are sleeping not on the floor. In the garret there is a small sofa," Josh wraps his arms around him, clutching Tyler's body to himself.

"Sounds too unreal," Tyler closes his eyes.

They stands for a long time, and the sun goes down beyond the horizon. They will try again.

***

"Remind me... why we are still not dead at all?" Tyler said it two weeks later, when they come to some city, and they are completely exhausted, because they had to walk for a day without stopping because of too open space.

“Because it’s scary to kill ourselves, and we kill those infected before they get to us,” Josh grumbles, throwing a rifle over his shoulder. They run out of ammo and it would be nice to find more.

"We don't even know where we are going. Maybe all the people in general have long been dead," Tyler said. He walks hard. Shoes rubs. They really want to take a shower.

“I hope not,” Josh sighs heavily.

They walk in silence, they hear only the sole strike against the old asphalt. It flooded with old dried blood, bloody traces of shoes are visible. They walk past two cars. Tyler sees blood on the windshield and decaying corpses. It stinks unbearably.

“The vultures ate them notably,” Josh says, casting a glance at the cars with the bodies.

Tyler is silent. He sighs heavily and goes further. He does not know how much they will live, but he wants to go on less and less every day. He understands that even despite the impending doom of the situation, he still want to live.

The city meets them with creaking signs, complete devastation and inverted cars.

"I would like to write a song about it," Tyler kicks a can with his foot.

“I would like to write a drum part for it,” Josh looks around.

They walk down the street, holding their rifles at the ready. But there is not a soul around. Only crushed cars, buildings damaged by earthquakes, and corpses in the corners.

They enter the first house and check all the rooms to make sure that they will not spend the night with the corpses. Josh closes the windows that have survived, and the broken curtains with different sheets, you never know. Tyler rummages through things, finds a few candles and puts them in his briefcase.

Once it was a cozy house where a happy family of five lived. Josh puts the family photo in place. These people are probably already dead. He hears the sounds of fussing from the kitchen where Tyler is.

"Are you okay?" Josh goes there, stepping over scattered things.

In the kitchen, Tyler looks at the barrel of the gun, and then at the guy holding him. This man has a crazy look and dirty tangled hair.

“Put the gun down. Put it down, or I will carry your brains out,” Josh instantly takes it at the front sight, aiming exactly at the head. The guy doesn't even move. 

The stranger turns a crazy look on him, then opens his hands and the gun falls to the floor. He lowers his arms at the seams. He sways and watches Tyler move away from him. Ty hides behind Josh.

Guy's eyes are red, his face is bruised, and he periodically twitches. Josh purses his lips, looking at it. It is seen that infected, but at the initial stage. Tyler shakes his shoulder.

Guy swings a few more times, and then looks straight at Josh.

"Kill me. I don't want to become a beast," he looks into the eyes of others with entreaty, dropping to his knees.

Josh hesitates, but pulls the trigger. It knocks brains out. Then he turns around, takes Tyler by the hand, and leaves the house.

“Why no one can shoot us the same way,” Tyler stomps after him and looks at the fresh blood on his shoes. Even pity was blunted by what was happening.

***

It takes a couple of days, they pass the whole city, so no one else stumbled upon. Tyler's knee keeps hurting.

"Let's spend the night here again, and then move on," Tyler drags Josh by the hand into the next house.

“Why can't we just stay here forever?” - Josh looks around the house, in which they went now. Surprisingly, almost everywhere there are whole windows. Josh smokes on the porch.

“If we'll stay, we'll die,” Tyler throws off his briefcase in the kitchen.

“We’ll die anyway,” Josh sweeps some trash off the floor and sits down.

It's evening, gradually in the house becomes dark. Candles give little light, but at least it's not so scary. Tyler looks at the gas bottle in the corner of the kitchen.

Josh follows his gaze. They are silent. It starts to rain on the street. The gas bottle glitters in a friendly red side.

“We could just fall asleep and not wake up,” Tyler looks at Josh, squeezing his hand. Josh understands.

“We can,” he closes the kitchen door tightly, windows and opens the gas valve, twisting it to the full.

Dun sits on the floor and hugs Tyler from behind, so that he places his head on his shoulder. Tears are running down the face of the younger guy.

“I love you,” Tyler whispers and closes his eyes. Josh pushes his nose into his hair and closes his eyes tightly. Three minutes passed. The guy in his arms doesn't breath anymore.

“I love you too,” Josh says into the void and squeezes someone else’s body with his own hands.

He takes the rifle and puts it into his mouth.

A shot resounds in the oppressive silence.

It’s not raining anymore.


End file.
